Islamabad: Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will not be able to participate in the opening Test of the three-match series against England starting from December 1 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
Shaheen’s right knee injury resurfaced during the T20 World Cup final on Sunday when he landed “weirdly” during the match and could not continue his over.
“The same right knee that had bothered him late when he caught Brock hit the ground. It’s definitely some kind of recurrence of the same injury. The severity of his injury hasn’t been determined yet. “The team management has decided to judge the severity of his injury upon the team’s return to Pakistan,” a team management official told the publication.
“Now we are going to Pakistan and we are running out of time to form a panel of doctors to assess the severity of Shaheen’s injury in Australia. Will be available after all the tests are done.”
News has learned from sources within the team that Shaheen will not be in a position to lead Pakistan’s attack at the start of the three-match Test series.
“I fear that Shaheen may miss the entire Test series against England. He needs prolonged rest and treatment to overcome his knee problem once and for all,” said a source.
“So it would be too risky to even think about playing him in the series – what to talk about in the first Test,” he added.
In all likelihood, Pakistan will go into the Test series against England with a changed attack. When contacted, one of the former doctors of the Pakistan Cricket Board said that Shaheen might miss the entire season.
“If you want a fit and ready Shaheen for the next World Cup (2023, 50 overs aside), you have to give them at least three to four months to get fully fit,” he said. They said.
In the T20 World Cup final against England, the 22-year-old fast bowler dismissed Alex Hales and later helped Shadab Khan to get the wicket of Harry Brooke and caught the ball in time, but he was hit on the right knee. fell down
In the 16th over, Shaheen came to bowl his first ball but looked visibly distressed with little chance to continue in the game. The pacer had to leave the field due to a knee injury and was replaced by Khushdil Shah while Iftikhar Ahmed completed his over.
The men in green were defeated by England in the final match of the shortest format played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
